


Falling Together

by Ballycastle_Bat



Series: A Love Across Timelines [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autistic Ray Palmer, Boys In Love, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Fluff, Gideon (DC's Legends of Tomorrow) Ships It, M/M, Other: See Story Notes, Pre-Particle Accelerator Explosion (The Flash TV 2014), Slow Burn, Vigilantism, original timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-17 12:14:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16974411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ballycastle_Bat/pseuds/Ballycastle_Bat
Summary: [Rewriting] In the original timeline untouched by Eobard, Barry Allen fell head over heels for Ray Palmer. It was easy, and natural. Until they were pulled apart by fate.





	1. Reconnecting

**Author's Note:**

> [[Warning: At the start of each chapter.  
> A/N: I was converted to a new ship, and what do I do whenever I get a new ship? I make a really complex AU.]]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry runs into an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [[Warning: N/A  
> A/N: This is my first time writing Ray, so here's to hoping it goes alright!]]

On a strangely warm October day Barry Allen settled in at his desk in his rented lab space. Papers were scattered everywhere. Mediocre drawings and clumsily scribbled notes lined not only the desk but the lab floor as well. He was planning something, something big. He had lost sleep for days over these plans and even his best friend hadn't been able to talk sense into him.

He rented this room to use as an office. He had needs somewhere secluded to work on his plans. He was far too busy whenever he was in the office and he couldn't do with his roommate hanging over every pencil stroke he made or erased.  
  
There was a knock on the open door and Barry glanced up to see none other than Raymond Palmer himself. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn't seen Ray in years. Not in person.   
  
“Hey! Allen! It's been years, hasn't it? I mean … we text and stuff, but wow. I never thought I'd just run into you again like this.”   
  
“Wow, yeah. It's so good to see you,” Barry offered a smile.   
  
Ray was Barry’s old college roommate, whom he had admittedly developed a small crush on about halfway through the year. Ray was … wonderful. Barry thought so, anyway. He always brought so much light into the room. He had never pursued him though. He didn't feel he was brave enough for that. He got engaged to a woman named Anna about two years later.   
  
“Good,” Ray smiled gleefully. “It's a shame that I'm packing up my own lab space today. We could have been like science neighbours! Almost like old times.”   
  
“Yeah,” Barry smiled a little. “I almost forgot you were in Central now.” the two were still friends. They had kept on touch, a little. Admittedly, Barry was bad at keeping up.   
  
“Yeah! Congrats, by the way, Director of the CSI division … I know you really wanted to help people.”   
  
“Yeah, thanks. Why are you packing up?”   
  
“Oh, my company took off! I'm an inventor now. I just never cleared out this place."   
  
“That's great!” Barry tapped his pencil against the table.   
  
“Hey, we should do coffee soon. We live in the same city, there's really no excuse,” Ray shrugged, seeming hopeful. He had always been a fan of Barry. Even if it wasn't exactly the way Barry liked him.   
  
“Of course.” Barry didn't think much of it, he figured Ray would forget about it in a week. Ray did have a bit of a habit of being all over the place and forgetting things. So did Barry.

 

However, the following Thursday, Barry got a message through the speakerphone on his desk.  
  
“Allen, do you know a Dr. Raymond Palmer? He claims he knows you.”   
  
“Hey, Barry! I brought coffee!”   
  
Barry laughed picturing the look on Officer Mendez’s face when Ray called across his desk to say that. Barry pressed the speaker button. “Yeah, George, go ahead and let him up when he gets through security.”   
  
Ray appeared in the crime lab with a wide grin on his face. “I hope you still take your coffee the same way!”   
  
“Definitely,” Barry smiled, surprised that Ray remembered.   
  
Ray took a few moments to process Barry’s reaction. “This was weird, wasn't it? Sorry. I've never been good at this.” a frown pulled at the edges of his lips.   
  
“No-no,” Barry shook his head. “You're fine. I was just surprised. It's good to see you. Come on in,” shuffled some stuff off of his desk. He ran his hands over his hair in a nervous twitch. “Pull up a chair wherever you'd like to sit. Sorry, it's kind of a mess in here.”   
  
Ray ‘The one that got away’ Palmer was sitting in his office. He had shown up unannounced for coffee. _Is he the one that got away if it was just a stupid crush_ ? Barry thought to himself lamely.   
  
Ray pulled up a chair by Barry and passed him his coffee. “So, what was that project you were pouring over in your lab space?” he seemed genuinely interested, even if he kept his eyes moving between the coffee and something on the wall behind Barry's head.   
  
Barry didn't mind. He brought the to-go cup to his lips. “Oh, the notes? Er … I'm trying to create an artificial intelligence. It's not going super well, but I'll get here!”   
  
“That sounds really awesome. I'm working on shrinking technology.”   
  
“Wow, that's way ahead of anything they're doing at CERN,” Barry gaped, visibly impressed by the revelation.   
  
“Oh, well,” he waved off the statement. “I wouldn't say that! It's just something small I’ve been working on as a pet project.”

  
  
They started getting coffee a few days a week, up into November. Every time Barry saw Ray, it seemed the inventor had an improvement while the CSI was struggling to get even his notes cohesive. One day, during a particularly heavy plotting session he came close to giving up. However, instead he dialled Ray's number and held the phone to his ear.   
  
Ray was in his office at Palmer Tech. He cleaned up a pile of papers before returning to what he was building that day. When his phone started to ring he ignored it at first, but when he was searching for a different screwdriver, he saw that it was Barry.   
  
“Hey, Barr!”   
  
“Oh good, hey I know you're probably busy but--”   
  
“I'll always take a call from Barry Allen,” he set down the device in his other hand. “What can I do for you?”   
  
“Well, I'm starting to work on my AI’s internal works and I'm worried about overheating. I'm between two cooling systems. The Hanson GX and the Wormwood Tech, they both seem high end and powerful bu--”   
  
Ray turned around and made a disgusted sound. “Wormwood products are garbage with a heavy customer loyalty. Don't use anything they make,” he turned around and half crossed his arms. “I don't even recommend Hanson for a job like that.”   
  
“What would you suggest? Wormwood has raving reviews.”   
  
“The problem with big companies like that is a lot of their consumers are misinformed--not all of them of course. People who love one or the other are probably going to praise it up and down even if the device has flaws if they're already loyal. So you have to make sure you're reading valid reviews. You need to focus on specs more than reviews--” Ray laughed into a very long explanation.   
  
Barry smiled nodded along though Ray couldn’t see him. He listened intently and was actually grateful for the thoroughness.   
  
“I'm sorry-- I got a little lost, didn’t I?” he finally realised about fifteen minutes later.   
  
“I don't mind at all,” Barry insisted. “This is actually really helpful.”   
  
“Well, what kind of battery are you using? Or power source? How much of this have you finished?”   
  
“This is all plans for now, and I know my parts have to be compatible. I'm still in the early planning stages. I can't imagine getting anywhere until at least next spring--”   
  
“December? Then I recommend you wait for either my cooling system or for S.T.A.R. Labs’s--oops I'm not supposed to … I promised Harrison I wouldn't talk too much about his work! But, yes. I would wait for either of those because your AI is going to be stronger than your average CPU.”   
  
“Your secret's safe with me, or I guess Dr Wells’ secrets,” Barry shrugged his shoulders. “but gotcha-- wait for stronger cooling systems.” he tried to stay calm despite learning that Ray was on a first name basis with Harrison Wells.   
  
“Yep!” Ray beamed, happy to help, he however, groaned into the ohpool me. “I'm going to have to let you go though. My brother just showed up. It was great talking to you. I hope I helped.”   
  
“Yeah, you were a huge help actually. Saved me wasted six hundred bucks,” he laughed. “Coffee tomorrow? My turn to bother you.”   
  
“I would love that. Whenever you're free. I'll just make time for you.”   
  
Barry felt a bit warm at that, but he composed himself. “Right … I'll see you.”   


  
The following day, Barry made his way into the doors of Palmer tech, he was shocked at its size. He had texted about an hour previously to give Ray a vague window of when he’d be able to slip away. Ray’s company seemed to have grown quickly in the last few months that they’d been in contact, though he knew that's how this worked sometimes, a slow start and then a quick pick up. He recommended with Ray right as the quick pick up started.   
  
He made his way to the front desk. A dark-haired man sat at the desk. “Can I help you?”   
  
“Yes, I'm here for Ray Palmer.”   
  
“Do you have an appointment?” The receptionist’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion. He looked Barry over, he didn't exactly look like the other employees there.   
  
“I'm a friend, my name is Barry Allen.”   
  
“Do you have I.D. Mr Allen?”   
  
Barry pulled out his wallet, flipping it open to show his badge and I.D. He watched the man behind the desk glance at it briefly before picking up the phone.   
  
“Dr Palmer? There’s a Mr Allen here to--”   
  
Barry could hear Ray’s voice on the other end. “Oh! Wonderful! Please send him up!”   
  
Barry smiled, always happy for his enthusiasm. When the receptionist gave him clearance to the upper levels, Barry headed into the lift and checked the map inside. _Gosh, there's a map of this place_ ? He felt more than a little intimidated but found the corresponding floor to Ray’s office.   
  
He pressed the button with a twenty next to it. He moved towards the back, leaning against the wall. It was a long way up, as the middle of the workday tended to have a lot of traffic. The elevator stopped at almost every floor. Not that Barry minded, it was easy to tune out. He had spent the a good chunk of his adult life in the Central City police department, after all.   
  
Soon his trip was over and he stepped off the lift and onto the correct floor. He made his way down the hall as was indicated on the map. He found his way back to a room with a security lock. He frowned and pressed the button that looked like some sort of speaker. “Uh-- Ray?” he tried, hoping he wasn't just making a fool of himself.   
  
“Barry! I'll unlock the door!” there was a soft buzzing sound and Barry pulled the heavy door open. It shut behind him when he was clear of it.   
  
The inside of the office was moderately lit, most of the light coming from a lamp on the work table. It wasn't _dark_ , but there weren't strong overhead fluorescent lights. “Where should I put these?” he held up the coffee holder.   
  
“Oh,” Ray cleared some files off of a table. “here is fine. I'm glad you came in today!” he picked up a helmet and put it in Barry's hands once they were free. “Look at this!”   
  
“Nice, what is it?” Barry asked, surprised by their sudden closeness. In the moment. His eyes fell on Ray's left hand. It was bare. No ring. and he frowned, not sure what to think of that.   
  
“It's the head to my secret project!” he moved over to a gauntlet on one of the tablets. “I'm calling it the Atom Suit.”   
  
“Is this … some kind of battle suit?” Barry turned the gauntlet over in his hand, carefully running his hand over the blue metal.   
  
“It's made of dwarf star alloy! Rare, but incredibly strong.”   
  
“Why are you showing me this?”   
  
“I know it’s not much right now. It's just a prototype so it's nothing fancy--”   
  
“Oh, I just meant that you said it was a secret project.”   
  
Ray simply shrugged his shoulders. “I trust you.”   
  
"What are you going to use it for?"   
  
"To help people, of course. What else would I use it for?" Ray’s eyebrows pulled together with the question.

  
When Barry got home, Iris pulled the cold rag off her head. She could sense something good happened. It didn't take much effort. Barry wore his heart on his sleeve.

“Barry, I'm going to stop you right there,” Iris held up a hand. “I love you so much but I can't keep up with another rant about the particle accelerator.” Iris West, Barry Allen’s roommate and best friend of nearly two decades was seated in the armchair partially facing the front door of the apartment. “I have a migraine.” She tilted her head back and replaced a cold rag on to her forehead.

Barry knelt down and dealt with his chucks, setting them by the door along with a pile of at least three different pairs of Iris’s flats. “What do you mean?” His current obsession _was_ the announcement that S.T.A.R. Laboratories was working on a Particle Accelerator under the guidance of Harrison Wells, a scientist whom Barry deeply admired. However, that was not the source of the day’s glee.

  
“You've got the ‘science face’ on,” she rose from her spot to turn off the lamp. “As I said. I have a migraine, otherwise you know I would listen to you gush for hours.”   
  
“There hasn't been any news about the particle accelerator.”   
  
“Then what's grin for?”   
  
“I saw a friend today,” he shrugged his shoulder dismissively. He pulled his messenger bag off his shoulder and hung it on one of the hooks by the door.   
  
“Which friend?” Iris’s brow cocked upward. She rose from her seat and headed into the kitchen to refill her coffee. “Hannah or that college guy you used to be in love with?”   
  
“Ray Palmer."   
  
Iris choked on her coffee. “I'm-” she coughed. “-sorry?”   
  
“I was with Ray Palmer today…”   
  
“You know Ray Palmer and you just didn't tell me?” Iris demanded. “He's only like, right up there with Oliver Queen on my dream man list.”   
  
“Ugh, Oliver Queen is a tool. I hope Ray is farther up. Ray is a gentleman,” he went to the fridge and grabbed a beer.   
  
“Ray is a gentleman, huh?” Iris eyed him carefully.   
  
“I've known the guy for almost a decade.”   
  
“What?”   
  
“We were roommates in college--”   
  
“Hold on, the guy you fawned over for a year was _Ray Palmer_ ?” Iris needed a moment to process that.   
  
“Can you blame me?” a chuckle passed his lips before he took a sip of his beer. “Through, I think saying I was fawning over him is an exaggeration. We are _friends_ .”   
  
“Listen,” Iris laughed, “Not really, but wow. You're friends? Since when?” 

“Well, we're more so now. We lost touch for a little while.” He shrugged his shoulders. “He’s still the same big goof I always talked about. More muted but still pretty much the same.”

“Well, I need to cancel a date.”

“Is it a date or are you going to look for the vigilante again?”

“I'll have you know, my interest in the vigilante is strictly professional!” Iris insisted, rolling her eyes.  
Barry gave her a doubtful look, a small smirk forming on his lips. He knew she was probably lying. They both had a bit of a thing for Central City's mysterious vigilante.   
  
"What? I take my job very seriously.”   
  
Barry’s look remained.   
  
Iris threw a pillow from the sofa at him. It hit him in the arm and knocked his beer onto the floor. The glass shattered and he sighed, cursing under his breath.   
  
“Ooh! Sorry!” Iris crossed the room again and moved to help him pick up the glass.   
  
“It's just a little glass, don't worry about it.” He blocked her hand. “I got it.” Once he cleaned it up they decided they should figure out dinner.


	2. Jay Garrick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry reminisces about old times during a visit with his parents before learning some new things about Ray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [[Warnings: Brief discussions of loss,  
> AN: N/A]]

On a chilly day, closer to Thanksgiving, Barry stuffed his hands into his pockets, as he leaned against the wall. A decent amount of time had passed. They were headed into summer. He was currently headed into his childhood home.  
  
Iris spit out her gum into a wrapper and stashed it into her purse before they headed inside.   
  
“Hi, mom!” Barry grinned and hugged her. He admittedly didn't come to Danville as much as he had before he was promoted. He just had too much on his plate.   
  
Nora Allen beamed at him. “It's so good to see you. You never come home anymore!” she pulled him into the kitchen. “Henry, Henry! Look who decided to show his face!” her tone was, of course, teasing, but he did feel bad. “Iris and Barry!”   
  
“Hey, slugger!” Henry patted his shoulder. “Iris,” he smiled and nodded to her.   
  
“You've been calling me that since I was eleven,” Barry rolled his eyes and he sat down to lunch with his parents.   
  
He sat and talked with them for about an hour. It was really nice to see them. He had been swamped with work and hadn't been out to Danville in far too long. After Lunch, Barry happily helped his parents move some boxes out of the attic. Amongst old trash and clothes that no longer fit, he found his collection of old Jay Garrick Comics.   
  
Nostalgia washed over him as he carefully removed one from the protective plastic pouch and began to flip through it. Brightly coloured pages of The Flash rushing to save the day greeted him, and he felt happy.   
  
“You were _obsessed_ with that Jay Garrick as a kid,” his mother said affectionately. “There should be…” she shuffled around in a box until she pulled it out. It was a plastic replica of a metal helmet with wings.   
  
“Oh my god, you nerd,” Iris covered her mouth to contain her laughter. “I remember, you wore the same costume every year for Halloween.”   
  
“Hey,” Barry said defensively.   
  
Iris lifted Jay Garrick helmet onto his head and lifted her phone from her pocket. She backed up to get him into the frame.   
  
Barry laughed and put his hands on his hips, mimicking a pose on the front of one of the comics. She crouched down slightly to get a good, aesthetic, shot. Iris posted the photo to her Instagram.   
  
**@CentralCityGirl:** My absolute favourite hero since 1996. Thank you for nearly two decades of adventure. Love always. **@CryptidsnCSI** . **#JayGarrick #Throwback**   
  
Barry’s phone dinged. “Did you just post that?” he demanded, his mouth agape.   
  
“What are you going to do about it?” She crossed her arms.   
  
“Delete it.”   
  
“No! It's a good picture!” she insisted. “I'm making it your contact photo.”   
  
“I'm six feet tall, I can just take your phone from you--”   
  
“I would like to see you try, Allen. You run like a drunk duck.” --   
  
Barry reached out to throw his arms around her waist but she ducked out of the way easily and took off down the stairs, nearly taking them two at a time and she fled.   
  
Barry followed, much to his mother's dismay. “Barry!” she rushed to the top of the stairs. “Barry you're twenty-five, why am I telling you no running in the house?” she shook her head and a soft laugh passed her lips.   
  
“Give me the phone, Iris!” Barry called after. “Come on! Or I'll eat all your mint chocolate chip ice cream!”   
  
Iris crashed into Henry. “Sorry Mr Allen,” she laughed softly.   
  
“Really, am I going to have to break up a fight like you're seven again?” he gave them an amused smile. “What are you fighting about?” he held out a hand, and as he looked at them, sticking their tongues out at each other he saw a flash of their younger selves.   
  
Iris released the phone to him without question.   
  
He glanced at the photo and smiled. “That's cute, honey,” he showed his wife the photo when she came into view.   
  
“I love this. Send it to me.”   
  
“No--” Barry’s phone dinged again and he pulled it out. He checked Instagram and all the blood went to his face. He covered his mouth as his face slowly tinted from pale to pink.   
  
“What's the matter, son?” asked Henry.   
  
**@SirRayofStar** : You were a Jay Garrick fan too? Nice! Nice loved him and Iron Man! Iron Man was a big favourite!!!! Can't wait to see you for coffee tomorrow. I can show you my collection. Talk soon.   
  
Barry scrambled out a reply.   
  
**@CryptidsnCSI** : Thanks **@SirRayofStar** yeah! He was my thing for years. Iron Man is nice too. Yeah. Can't wait to see you. Feel free to invite Iris too!“   
  
“Barry's college crush commented on the picture,” Iris laughed softly.   
  
“He's not my crush. I'm grown.”   
  
“You sound like my dad,” she rolled his eyes.   
  
“Which reminds me, he's still coming to Thanksgiving, right?” Henry butt in.   
  
“Absolutely.” Her phone dinged and she pulled it out again. “It's work, sorry. Looks like I might be allowed to write another big soup!”

 

“Go ahead, Barry can finish helping us here.”  
  
“So,” said a Nora after a few minutes. “meet anyone nice lately?” she nudged him as she finished folding an old baby blanket.   
  
Barry took it when she was done and placed it in the plastic bin beside him. After that he pulled one of his old Scientific Decathlon shirts out of a cardboard box. He shook it out beside him to dislodge any dust. It was the one he'd gotten in his final year of high school when he helped his team win.   
  
It was white and his last name was silk pressed across the back in a 'not completely offensive shade of yellow' as Iris had once described it. “Can I take this home? I've been looking for it.”   
  
“Avoiding the subject so you don't have to lie badly? Good tactic.” Nora raised an eyebrow at him. “What's her -- or his -- name?”   
  
“It’s nothing--” he shrugged.   
  
“You're blushing! It's not nothing!” she pinched his cheek. “You always wear your heart on your sleeve, my beautiful boy.”   
  
“I'm not blushing,” Barry insisted. “I just ran into an old college friend, but I'm not his type.”   
  
“Ooh! Don't say that,” she pulled out an old quilt.   
  
He helped her fold it, it was much later than the baby blanket. “He’s got a salmon ladder in his office, mom,” he put the blanket in the box with the other one.   
  
“A salmon ladder?”   
  
“It's workout equipment, there's two metal bars with spokes, and a bar connecting them. You kinda propel yourself up the ladder with your upper body strength-- not exactly something I can keep up with.”   
  
“Who cares about athletics?” she waved him off.   
  
“You don't care who I go out with as long as you get grandkids,” he accused, pushing one box to the side and pulling out another plastic bin. “What's next?   
  
“Oh, you know that's not true! You're just being difficult. You think you're not anyone's type.”   
  
“I might not be,” he shrugged his shoulders. “and I'm fine with that.”

* * *

The following day when Barry approached the door it was opened by a doorman, which surprised him. He nodded to the man and said a quick ‘thank you’ before heading to the front desk. “Uh, Barry Allen for Ray Palmer?”  
  
He had expected Ray to live somewhere nice. Though he didn't prepare himself enough it seemed. The last time he was in Brookfield Heights was over three years ago for a robbery case when he was just a rookie.   
  
He had gotten lost four times on his way there and was surprised that this high-end apartment complex had such high security. He watched as the man behind the window looked down at a list. “Can I see an I.D?”   
  
Barry provided his badge and I.D. for the second time in what was supposed to be a normal social situation. He made a mental note to just take out his drivers license ahead of time for the next time he had to visit Ray.   
  
Barry got the go ahead and made his way to the lift. Of course, that had an attendant too. “Um, the top floor, please, sir,” he smiled.   
  
When he got to the top he made his way down the door for the left apartment. Then he stopped and pulled out his phone.   
  
**Barry:** Did you say you were on the left or right?   
  
**Ray:** Right! I'll meet you.   
  
Barry made it all the way around the vestibule, it was open and he passed two doors that seemed to lead elsewhere. He saw a sign by them but didn't look long enough to read it.   
  
“I hope you didn't get too lost!” Ray beamed at him. “I got lost a lot when I first moved in.” he stood at the door in a fluffy bathrobe, but seemed to be wearing sweatpants under it.   
  
“Nope!” This wasn't exactly a new sight to Barry. They did share a room for a year.   
  
He stepped in when Ray moved aside. “Sorry, my work out ran a little late and I didn't want to answer the door all gross.”   
  
Barry shrugged, unbothered, and if he had been bolder he would have made a comment indicating that he didn't wouldn't have minded seeing him a little worked up. “Take your time. I'm early. It's my day off and Iris is on a date with Golden Glider.” He gave an amused huff.   
  
“The Vigilante? Oh right. That was sarcasm. I almost forgot she was a reporter, sorry,” he brushed the towel over his hair. “The kitchen is down and to the left. Make yourself at home. I'll be just a second.”   
  
The apartment was probably larger than his parents’ house. He prayed he wouldn't get lost. The last thing he wanted would be to get caught wandering around someone's apartment.   
  
He was only a little surprised to finds shelves upon shelves of books and video games. He stopped at a suit of armour in a glass case. It was shiny, definitely a replica and not an antique. The shield bore the chest of King Arthur. Barry smiled. He could briefly recall Ray mentioning he had always wanted a shield like that.   
  
To the left of it was another, smaller case with a helmet inside. Much like the costume one he’d worn in his Instagram picture but this one seemed to be made from an actual metal.   
  
“That one's a prop from the 1968 Jay Garrick movie!” came Ray's voice from behind him.   
  
“I never knew there was a film. I just read the comics,” Barry turned to see Ray, now dry and clad in a t-shirt patterned to look like Iron Man's suit and a pair of basketball shorts.   
  
“Oh man, you haven't? We need to watch it! It's so beautifully cheesy.”   
  
“Sounds good,” he laughed softly. They moved into the kitchen.   
  
The kitchen was large, with an island and stainless steel appliances. further in, Barry could see there was a small table. Ray made his way over to a nice coffee maker. “What kind of coffee do you like? I have Jitters Vanilla Bean or dark roast.”   
  
“Dark roast is fine,” Barry looked around the room. “You have a nice place here.” he enjoyed the way he and Ray had snapped back into being friends so quickly. Ray treated him like no time had past from the start and it was refreshing.   
  
“Thanks, I think it's a little much though,” he shrugged. “I got carried away,” he started to brew the coffee in seconds, setting it on the counter while be brewed his own. “Too big, gets kinda lonely,” When he was finished he brought the cups over to the table.   
  
"That's too bad.”   
  
“Do you take anything in your coffee?”   
  
“Just sugar and cream.”   
  
Ray stood. He retrieved a small, navy blue, ceramic sugar jar with a metal spoon hung on the side. He brought both items back to Barry and set them in front of him. “Here you go.”   
  
“Thanks,” Barry added a bit into the coffee and used a spoon to stir it. “How goes your secret project?”   
  
“It's going alright.”   
  
“Hey, um, why did you move back to Central anyway?” he finally got around to asking. He assumed there had to be a reason why he didn't stay in Starling.   
  
“Um,” he shuffled in his seat and looked down at his coffee. “I was engaged.”   
  
“ Was ?” he pressed gently. He knew who Anna was, but not much about her.   
  
“She died-- no, she was murdered,” he barely managed to get the words out.   
  
“I'm so sorry, Ray,” Barry unconsciously reached out and placed his hand over Ray’s. “I had no idea.”   
  
“I never told you,” he shrugged his shoulders and the grip on his mug tightened.   
  
Barry felt it, and he frowned deeply. He wished there was something he could do for Ray. He decided to change the subject, gathering that Ray didn't want to talk about it. “When do you want to watch Jay Garrick? Also, you said you had some comics you wanted to show me?”   
  
“Right, yes,” he nodded and stood, leading Barry into another room.

The room Barry was lead to had a bathroom directly off to the side. So he assumes it had been intended as a bedroom. Shelves with boxes lined the walls and Ray grabbed one with a label Barry didn't quite catch.   
  
“Have you read this series?” he pulled one out and showed it to him.   
  
“No, I have not.”   
  
“Well, take these with you when you go. There's only ten in the series and they're really good.”   
  
“That's short, I can definitely read that.” Barry agreed, though he’d read read longer in little time, of course.   
  
They sat down at a desk in the room, starting to discuss their favourite heroes. They brought up series and arcs, and character trails. Soon, they realised the room had gotten darker, there was no sun casting through the windows anymore.   
  
“Oh, wow,” said Barry with a laugh. “Well, it's kind of late, I have to get going. What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”

“Oh, I'm going to Ivy Town.” Ray forced a smile.

“Really? That's pretty far airports are going to be swamped.” Barry commented as Ray walked him to the door.

“I'm taking my jet.”

“Your jet … of course.”

“I'll see you.”

“Right, bye.” He headed out with that.


End file.
